A Fortune in Your Back Yard

Gary North

Russell Conwell was a Protestant minister in the late 19th century. He wrote a speech called "Acres of Diamonds." So popular was that speech that he gave it, in city after city, small town after small towns, for over thirty years.

He gave it over 6,000 times. Millions of people heard it. Then he turned it into a best-selling book.

He was well paid for his time. He earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from it in an era in which a dollar was worth twenty times what it is today. He used part of that money to found Temple University in Philadelphia.

The speech is the story of opportunities missed and opportunities perceived. It is posted on Temple University's site.

In my twice-weekly eletter, Gary North's Reality Check, I have written about this speech and how to apply it.